ABA Calls on OCC to Slow Crypto Charter Approvals Amid Regulatory Gaps

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The American Bankers Association has called on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to moderate the pace at which it approves national bank charters for digital asset firms, citing ongoing uncertainties in receivership procedures and the lack of a finalized federal oversight regime.

In a comment letter delivered Wednesday, the ABA argued that the OCC must first confirm its supervisory and insolvency frameworks are capable of addressing the specific risks presented by firms active in cryptocurrency and stablecoin markets. The association pressed the agency to withhold further charter approvals until such validation is complete.

The association tied its call for patience directly to the legislative timeline of the GENIUS Act. While the OCC has recently imposed conditions on certain charter approvals that mandate future adherence to the Act, the ABA emphasized that complete implementation is likely years away. The process, it noted, requires coordinated rulemaking across five distinct agencies, including the Federal Reserve and the FDIC.

The ABA flagged potential securities law implications for OCC charter applicants. Some recent and future applicants, the association stated, may be obligated to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission as regulated brokers, investment advisers, or investment companies. Trust companies that intend to rely on the statutory bank exemption under federal securities laws must engage a substantial portion of their activities in exercising fiduciary powers, the ABA noted. It warned that SEC oversight would significantly erode the longstanding barrier between banking and securities regulation.

The association further took issue with the OCC’s recent practice of granting charters conditioned on applicants agreeing to conform, cease, or divest operations to satisfy the GENIUS Act. The ABA recommended that the agency instead be patient and postpone approvals until each applicant’s regulatory responsibilities are fully delineated.